# Celebrity Careers You Followed Before Stardom **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2001, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765 "2001-09-04T23:31:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/1 "2001-09-04T23:31:21Z")
In case anyone opened up my blunder and was disapointed, I might as well start this thread. For me it was Jim Carrey. I remember watching him on _In Living Color_ then BAM!: _Ace Ventura, Pet Detective_. ---
**Author:** ![Jeannie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@Jeannie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeannie)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/2 "2001-09-05T02:26:12Z")
I want to go on record (like I haven’t mentioned it before, I know) as saying that my favorite actor in the whole wide world is Sean Astin. He was in _The Goonies_, the movie that made me fall in love with him (I was eleven). And his most famous movie to date besides that one is _Rudy_. He’s in the upcoming _LOTR_ movies, so I am sure that the world will come to adore him as I do. So I just wanted to mention that as prrof that I’m not just jumping on the bandwagon and wins fifty million awards because he’s so damn good 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skijumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Skijumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skijumper)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/3 "2001-09-05T02:48:34Z")
“Hey it’s \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ from…” Leonardo DiCaprio from Growing Pains River Phoenix from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Jim Carrey from The Duck Factory Carrie-Ann Moss from Models Inc David Duchovny from Twin Peaks Robert Downey Jr from Weird Science ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/4 "2001-09-05T02:55:02Z")
Hey, its Geena Davis from that episode of _Knight Rider_ and then _Family Ties_. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/5 "2001-09-05T02:56:28Z")
Shelley Long made carpet ads before _Cheers._ She was in her prime–RRRRRRRROWWWWWWWW! ---
**Author:** ![Michele\_in\_SoCal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Michele\_in\_SoCal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michele_in_SoCal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/6 "2001-09-05T03:47:18Z")
Richard Dreyfuss in American Grafitti, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, and then in Inserts. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/7 "2001-09-05T12:02:58Z")
Geena Davis from “Buffalo Bill” ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/8 "2001-09-05T13:20:52Z")
No, no, no. Jim Carrey was in Once Bitten. Oh sure, it came out a year after The Duck Factory, but no one can forget this classic piece of cinema. Also, I remember Jason Alexander from a McDonald’s commercial. How pathetic is that? ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/9 "2001-09-05T15:40:24Z")
Being a SNL watcher, I knew who **Julia Louis-Dreyfus** was before _Seinfeld_, and who **Damon Wayons** was before _In Living Color_ (he was also in the movie _Roxanne_). ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/10 "2001-09-05T17:00:59Z")
I’ve known Tom Hanks since his days on _Bosom Buddies_. There are also a number of comedians I’ve known since they were doing standup. Drew Carey, Bob Saget, and more recently Ray Romano are a few that immediately come to mind, there are others. In fact, I remember Drew Carey’s appearance on _Star Search_ (don’t remember if he won anything, though). ---
**Author:** ![Edwardina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Edwardina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edwardina)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/11 "2001-09-05T19:00:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skijumper \* > \*\*“Hey it’s \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ from…” > River Phoenix from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers > \*\* River Phoenix from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?!! I thought that movie was made before he was born. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/12 "2001-09-05T21:09:17Z")
Well, he’s only a minor celebrity, but the first that comes to mind is William Ragsdale, star of the movie _Fright Night_ and the TV series _Herman’s Head_ and _Brother’s Keeper_. Bill was a senior at Hendrix College when I was a freshman, and there were stories in the college paper over the next few years as he got acting roles (national touring company of _Biloxi Blues_, etc.). Then _Fright Night_, then . . . . Nothing for a few years. He was working, just not in film or anything that would attract national attention (supposedly, he was close to being cast in the lead in the film of _Biloxi Blues_, only to have Matthew Broderick pull it out from under him). The next I heard of him was sometime after _Herman’s Head_ hit the airwaves. Along the same lines, another Hendrix alum from my days there, Natalie Canerday, has had several feature film roles, most notably the mother of the little boy in _Sling Blade_ (she was also in an earlier Billy Bob Thornton-written flick, the extremely underrated _One False Move_, as the wife of one of the main characters). She’s also been in _Biloxi Blues_ (the girl Eugene dances with at the very end of the movie), _October Sky_, Dwight Yoakam’s _South of Heaven, West of Hell_, and a few others. ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Jass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/13 "2001-09-05T23:09:54Z")
Janeane Garofaolo (sp?) Saw her on some MTV stand-up comedy special and have been in love ever since. ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/14 "2001-09-05T23:19:02Z")
The only one I can think of off hand is **seth green**. He was Dr Evil’s son in Austin Powers and has played in numerous other movies, most recently rat race. I was actually good friends with him when I was about 10 or so. We went to camp together and at the time he was doing tv shows like amazing stories and some cartoon voices. His big role at the time was radio days. The last time that I saw Seth was at his bar-mitzvah (13 years old). His career seemed to fade for awhile then I heard he moved from philadelphia to LA and next thing I knew he was in a ton of movies and TV shows. It gives me a chuckle whenever I get to see him in a movie. One of my friends actually still keeps in touch with him. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/15 "2001-09-05T23:27:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rackensack \* > **Well, he’s only a minor celebrity, but the first that comes to mind is William Ragsdale, star of the movie _Fright Night_ and the TV series _Herman’s Head_ and _Brother’s Keeper_. Bill was a senior at Hendrix College when I was a freshman, and there were stories in the college paper over the next few years as he got acting roles (national touring company of _Biloxi Blues_, etc.). Then _Fright Night_, then . . . . Nothing for a few years. He was working, just not in film or anything that would attract national attention (supposedly, he was close to being cast in the lead in the film of _Biloxi Blues_, only to have Matthew Broderick pull it out from under him). The next I heard of him was sometime after _Herman’s Head_ hit the airwaves.** Got ya beat. Been following him since high school. Claudia Christian from way back when she was in _Berenger’s_. Tom Hanks from _Bosom Buddies_. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/16 "2001-09-05T23:39:37Z")
Soap fan here. We get to see them all before they hit the big time. Most notably, I was a huge fan of **Demi Moore** on _General Hospital_ in 1982; **Janine Turner** , also on GH in 1982; **Anne Heche** on _Another World_ 1987-1990 (I even have tapes). Watched **Luke Perry** on AW in the late '80’s, although I don’t really remember him because his role was pretty insignificant, also saw **Spencer Treat Clark** of _Gladiator_ on AW during the '90’s. Oh, **Thomas Gibson** of Dharma and Greg was on AW in the '90’s too. There are tons more that I can’t think of at the moment. My prediction for next big breakout star is **Tammy Blanchard** , formerly of _Guiding Light_, who is Emmy-nominated for her TV-movie role as the young Judy Garland this year. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/17 "2001-09-06T00:23:18Z")
I remember watching Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix in Explorers back in '85 and being impressed. Great performances for little kids. And then there was that episode of Kung Fu, and this one gunfighter, who just looked amazingly studley. I had bad deja vu when I saw Star Wars, and finally looked it up to make sure years later… yup. Harrison Ford. In Kung Fu. ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/18 "2001-09-06T01:07:22Z")
I had a huge crush on Leonardo DiCaprio beginning with _Growing Pains_. I followed him through _What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, This Boy’s Life, Total Eclipse, The Quick and the Dead, The Basketball Diaries, Marvin’s Room_, and _Romeo & Juliet_, his big role that got the teenage girls panting. By the time _Titanic_ rolled around, he caused only slight heart palpitations. This was pre-AOL, pre-job, pre-17. I paid people to sneak me into his R-rated movies. I must have spent several hundred hard-earned allowance dollars on magazines with articles or pictures of him. All were plastered on my wall, culminating in a huge bulletin board collage with about two hundred pictures. I kissed every one good night, every night. Ah, Leo. I still get a tad bit jealous when I hear about him with Gisele. I’ve also loved Elijah Wood since _Radio Flyer_ and _Avalon_, and I’ve watched him get cuter and cuter with each passing movie, nearly all of which I’ve seen and loved. With the exception, of course, of _Flipper_ (starring Paul Hogan?!) and the teen flicks he made in the late 90’s. I personally think _The Ice Storm_ is his best, but _Radio Flyer_ is one of my favorite movies of all. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/19 "2001-09-06T01:36:29Z")
I used to watch the Jon Stewart Show fairly regularly, then Jon Stewart disappeared for several years, to reemerge for the Daily Show. Yeah, I think that’s the best I can do. ---
**Author:** ![okielady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/fbc32d/32.png) [@okielady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/okielady)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765/20 "2001-09-06T03:01:34Z")
I remember Nicholas Cage from Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Valley Girl…but he has a famous uncle, I think, so does that really count? LOL Ditto me on Tom Hanks from Bosom Buddies, and Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix from The Explorers (I actually have that on videotape, recorded from HBO!) I also remember Jason Alexander from the McDonald’s commercial. It was the McDLT, wasn’t it? Jami Gertz and Sarah Jessica Parker from Square Pegs! Courtney Cox from Family Ties and the Bruce Springsteen Video. And don’t forget The Outsiders - the movie (filmed in Oklahoma, I might add…:)) that starred some now-famous guys when they were just getting their start: Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas (Tommy) Howell, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, and Tom Cruise. Also starred Matt Dillon, but I was already in love with him from My Bodyguard (also starring Joan Cusack and Adam Baldwin - no relation to the Baldwin brothers) and Little Darlings. Ooooh, yikes, I think I’ll stop now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-careers-you-followed-before-stardom/79765.md?page=2)